Reviews with content warning for Bullying - The Rumor Game

The Rumor Game is a YA novel told through the perspectives of three teenage girls at an elite Washington DC high school. Throughout the story each of them is impacted in some way by the rumors, lies, and social media attention until they decide something must be done. Overall, I give this book 3 stars (which I consider to be a good, but not great book) My reasons are as follows:

Pros:

Unfortunately social media has made bullying easier than ever and this book highlights that. All three of our narrators as well as other students are intrenched in rumors and lies. It impacts all areas of their lives and it often causes them and other characters to make decisions that they might otherwise not in response to feeling attacked, shunned, or even worshipped.

I also like that in the end there were consequences (some deserved, some satisfying, some frustrating), but it wasn't like they got out of this mess unscarred. In real life there are consequences ranging from losing friends or your reputation to serious accident, death, or jail time and this did show that reality.

I was nervous about the format, but ended up really liking it. Having the story take place not only through our narrators' perspectives, but also through social media platforms shows their lack of control over the rumors and how much it impacts a whole community.

There is a lot of diversity in this book and I believe kids would find someone who at least looks like them.

This book is entertaining and dramatic like a Pretty Little Liars or Riverdale ( or Tiny Pretty Things: the authors' other book)

so it should draw treens in and keep their attention, but it also deals with very serious topics like: cyber bullying, gaslighting, racism, slut shaming, and sexual assault.

Cons:

I personally think that having all the characters be the sons and daughters of politicians, diplomats, and wealthy business owners lessens the relatability for your average teen as it focuses on the experiences of the upper 20% with their gated communities, country clubs, lavish houses, servants, and unlimited resources. It makes it seem like this is more of a rich kid problem instead of something that faces all teenagers.

I think it tried to take on too much. As stated before, this book covers a lot of issues (more than I even mentioned) so it can't really go in-depth on any of them. I personally found parts of the book so traumatic I wasnt sure I wanted to keep reading, but then we just get a list of different resources in the back instead of serious discussions of these topics. I just feel like the authors could have focused on less issues and gone more in-depth on those.

Pros of the Audiobook:

I always like when audiobooks have different narrators when the book is in different perspectives. This is narrated that way. However, there are 3 characters and two narrators, so that makes it a little confusing.

Listening to the story you get the sounds of text messages, emails, and posts that bring you more fully into the digital part of the story. You also can hear the emotions of our main characters.

Cons of the audiobook:

There is a section of the book called rumor log which is repeated each time a new rumor is added. This is nice at first, but as the rumors pile up it gets repetitive. I could quote the whole list word for word from memory I heard it so many times. (If you were reading the print version, you would just skim the list or look at the last entry)

Overall, I might recommend this to my students (after discussing the content), and I do think it shines a light on the serious issues teenagers face. Definitely check all content warnings before reading.

Thank you to Netgalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide for an audiobook version of this book. This is my honest review.

Content Warnings

plumpaperbacks's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

[Early copy from Netgalley. This doesn’t affect my opinions/review.]

My feelings on this book are complicated. On one hand, I think it was an (unfortunately) accurate portrayal of how vicious high school can be, of flawed teens making questionable choices when under social and mental duress. On the other hand, though, I found most of the characters extremely frustrating, which hindered my reading experience.

I will say that the final third of the book revealed one very unexpected plot twist that single-handedly saved the book for me. Up until that point, nothing had shocked me except how horrible some of the characters were being. It was all very cleverly done on the authors’ part.

One aspect I have mixed feelings on is Georgie’s character. While she did end up being one of my favorites—alongside Riley and Baez—I question the authors’ choice to make her narrative what it was. Prior to the start of the story, she was a fat girl sent to a summer weight loss camp, which already isn’t my favorite thing. Then the new school year starts, and suddenly, despite being ignored when she was fat, now that she’s lost weight and started dressing differently, she becomes more popular. I realize it was in part a commentary on fatphobia in society, and one of the most significant parts of Georgie’s journey was her realization that she’s beautiful and worthwhile no matter what she weighs or how she looks. But I ask: why was any of it necessary? Why, in 2022, are we still giving this rather offensive cliché any attention? Why couldn’t Georgie realize those things without losing any weight? Alternatively, instead of any sort of self-image character arc, she could’ve been a transfer student, new to the area, and that was why she was attracting attention. I don’t know—maybe I’m over-analyzing this, but I just didn’t really like it regardless.

Also, I would’ve liked to see a bit more about Cora’s queerness. I am completely aware that it’s not meant to be a focal point in this story, and I accept that. However, it’s briefly mentioned a couple of times that she previously, secretly dated a girl, and that’s it. I think it would’ve been interesting to see more of that part of her.

Ultimately, I did like the ending. I liked where each of the characters ended up, and even liked most of the major players by the time I was done, which was a huge improvement from the first half of the book.

As for the book as a whole, I’m not sure. My criticisms of the first half combined with my unexpected investment in and the surprise improvement of the second half equal an overall neutral rating. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t great. I would recommend it if you’re a fan of prep school mysteries and contemporaries with social commentary, but it’s not my first choice recommendation either. So yeah—50/50, basically.

Representation

Indian protagonist
Black queer protagonist
side characters of color (includes Indian, Nigerian, Black and Chinese rep)
sapphic side characters

Content Warnings

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